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Replay works in Toronto's favor twice vs. Phils

5/5/14: Jose Reyes makes the slick barehand play to first and after review the call is overturned for an out in the bottom of the 8th

By Todd Zolecki and Gregor Chisholm
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MLB.com |

PHILADELPHIA -- It took more than a month, but Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has finally won a challenge.

Gibbons came out to argue a call at first base during the eighth inning of Toronto's 3-0 win over the Phillies on Monday night. Leadoff hitter Marlon Byrd hit a grounder to shortstop Jose Reyes and was called safe by umpire Jeff Kellogg, but the Blue Jays wanted to take a closer look.

Toronto used its challenge, and replays showed that the ball arrived in first baseman Edwin Encarnacion's glove a split second before Byrd hit the bag. The call on the field was overturned, and Gibbons was successful for the first time in seven attempts.

"Big play, leading off that inning in a fairly tight game in a small ballpark," Gibbons said. "It was a heck of a play by Reyes, and maybe the tides are turning."

Instant replay also worked in the Blue Jays' favor earlier in the game. With Toronto up 3-0 in the sixth inning, right fielder Jose Bautista threw out Byrd at the plate when Byrd tagged up from third on a flyout to right. Umpires took a look to see if Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole blocked the plate correctly.

He did, and the out call was confirmed.

"I wasn't sure if [Byrd] had a lane or not," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "That was hard to tell. But it also gave [the umpires] a chance to check the tag. So that was [the umpires'] challenge."